Because You Loved Me
by CarbonMonoxide
Summary: Post Hogwarts LJ. She's an Unspeakable. Cold. Reserved. Detached. He's an Auror. Carefree, happy, and relaxed. They're both trainees, and willing to do anything to earn a spot in the Ministry's Special Board... Now they've just got to live with each other
1. Double, Double, Toil & Trouble

_Because You Loved Me_

By: CarbonMonoxide

Disclaimer: Lol.

**Full** **Summary: **Lily Evans is an Unspeakable. The years have made her cold, detached, and reserved. In her last year of training, she is sent on missions, retrieving information for the Ministry's Intelligence, and the National Auror Service. But when the 18 year old redhead is placed with a top Auror as a result of the Ministry's new "buddy program", she is forced to work side by side with none other than the handsome, free spirited James Potter.

* * *

Inside, everything was dead silent. Nothing stirred, nothing moved. Not even the steady tick tock of a clock could be heard. Outside, however, the rain drizzled, and heavy streaks spilled against the window. There was the occasional flash of thunder, when the room would flicker into view for just a second, before it was plunged back into darkness.

Placed directly on the opposite wall, facing the interior of the room, was a giant, flat panel screen, almost like a large sheet of paper. Displayed against a blank, black background, was the time, 3: 59 AM, glowing in green. Then, suddenly, within the blink of an eye, the screen blanked, and the entire room was immersed in light, as every lamp in the room switched on.

The screen reappeared, but this time, with a different message. It showed what looked like a schedule, similar to that of one seen in a muggle airport.

Rank One Trainees: Primary Destination: Base # 2. Time: 5:10 AM. _Course: Outdoors._  
Rank Two Trainees: Destination: Department of Mysteries, Room 504. Time: 5:00 AM. _Course: In-Building._  
Pre Certification Trainees: Primary Destination: Department of Mysteries, Room C1. Time: 4:30 AM. _Course: In Action._

At the bottom of the screen, the words, Please Select Your Status, were highlighted.

The quiet blast of a shower being turned out resounded through the small student dorm, and the rain continued to fall heavily.

Fifteen minutes later, a young, petite witch entered the room, dressed in the traditional black uniform, required of someone in her position. Standing in the center of the room, the auburn haired woman looked at the screen only once, before saying quite casually, though clearly enough, "Pre Certification." The said words glowed once on the list of ranks visible on the screen, before a greeting was flashed, and another guided list appeared.

Good Morning, Lily Evans.  
October 9, 1988.

(AN: Creative license or whatever its called is going to let me make Harry born in 1990, instead of 1980, b/c I just think it makes more sense that way. The dates aren't really that important anyway.)

_Lily A. Evans: Secondary Destination: KA 6789. Classified: Level Three. Reporting Officer: Nolan Prewett. Back-up: None. Under-cover: Yes._

The woman sighed to herself. _Knockturn Alley, today?_ She lightly furrowed her brows, even as she walked towards her refrigerator, snatching up an item that had been lying on a nearby table and stuffing it into the pocket of her pants, on the way. _Nolan must be up to something._ She never did work like that, anymore. Most work like this was handed over to the Aurors, nowadays. After all, Unspeakables were the brains behind each of the Ministry's missions, they had no reason to actually go out into the open.

Shrugging inwardly, the redhead pulled a small bottle of fruit juice out of her refrigerator. Twisting open the cap, she crossed the tiny distance of the room, and at the front door of her dorm, grabbed a duffle bag that was lying on the floor. Slinging the matching black and slightly heavy bag over her shoulder one handedly, the woman wrenched open the front door.

The heavy door softly clicked shut behind her, notifying you of her egress.

* * *

A young, petite witch stood before a mirror dressed in a tight ribbed black turtle neck with sleeves that reached to her elbows, thin translucent gloves, and black cargo pants, whose pockets were filled with various instruments, that would appear too foreign and erratic for the normal witch or wizard to identify. A broad and thick belt around her waist, contained a concealed indenture in which she could store her wand if need be. Dressing monochromatically was the easiest way to remain unseen at times like these; any vision deterring spells would work better as well, with only one color to blur.

The eighteen year old quickly pulled her auburn hair into a tight bun, as she frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She honestly hated undercover operations at times, it always seemed take her forever to get ready. After she was done she reached into her duffle bag and pulled out a blonde wig like item, which consisted of long, straight, sunny yellow strands. Tipping her head to one side slightly, she basically just forced the wig onto her head, taking care to make sure it covered any remains of her natural auburn roots, tugging at it here and there and examining her head from the back, as she did so.

Finally satisfied with the state of her false hair, Lily Evans stared at herself once more into the mirror. She sighed disgustedly.

_Yuck, I look horrible._

The blonde hair did nothing whatsoever to compliment her green eyes, and pale complexion. Not to mention her eyelashes and eyebrows were still dark red. _Shit_. She had nearly forgotten. Snatching up her wand, Lily muttered a slight incantation, waving the sleek piece of wood distractedly before her face. Within the blink of an eye, her eyebrows and eyelashes were the same blonde as the fallacious hair attached to her head.

Realizing that her eyes were still green, Lily picked up a contact case, and in five seconds time had them in place, and her eyes were a dull baby blue. Of course, there was a simple enough spell you could use to disguise your eye color and to temporarily change the color of your hair, but if anybody ever managed to throw a "finite incantatem" her way, her cover would be blown and she'd be as good as dead. At times like these, Lily was glad for her muggle born heritage. It often times ended up giving her an advantage, due to the general wizarding population's muggle ignorance. More than likely, any wizard or witch she met who on her way who was a potential threat would not recognize her usage of contacts or a wig.

And the blonde hair? She looked like the perfect stereotypical blonde. There seemed to be so many of those around, these days anyway.

Then her eyes fell to a small dark spot at the top corner of her upper lip. It had been there since she was born. Her mother had always called it a beauty mark. Her father had said it proved how much his "little Lily flower" had character. Petunia said it made her look like a Cindy Crawford wannabe. But of course, Petty had always been the slightly jealous one.

Lily Evans sighed, pushing all thoughts of her hateful sister out of her mind for now. She brought the tip of her wand to the little birth mark, muttering a temporary concealing charm under her breath. She had to keep her face as unrecognizable as possible, when she went on these 'mini missions' as she called them.

Mini missions were usually proposed when the Ministry needed more information on a certain person, or had a particular item in mind they need to have. These missions often times required some sort of espionage or deep research, which was usually deemed illicit for the public to see.

The mirror which had been silent throughout the whole ordeal now spoke two words.

"Effectively concealed."

Gazing at her reflection once more, the disguised woman stared blankly into the mirror, her face emotionless.

She blinked, and a second later, the young woman had apparated into a small dingy store in Knockturn Alley.

Lily Evans, disguised as a blonde, with dull blue eyes wrapped the plain black robe around her tighter, as she stepped quietly into the store. She took great care to make sure the sleeves of her robes were long enough to cover her gloved hands. Merlin knows, she did not need fingerprints. As Lily looked around, the first thing she saw was a barrel of shrunken heads. She knew that surely, just by looking at the small, yellowish faces with bulging eyes that she was at the right place.

Borgin and Burkes.

She strode confidently to the front counter, where an old, rather disgusting looking man was half sleeping.

She groaned inwardly at the sight. Promptly, she rapped her knuckles on the counter near his head. The sickening man immediately woke, and peered groggily up at her, until he offered a gross yellow toothed grin.

"N' wha mi a nice lil' lady lik' you, be doin' at a place lik' this?"

The blonde Lily said nothing, but instead gave a charming smile which would put dear Circe to shame. Sure enough, the old man's grin, if possible, became wider.

Deciding it was better if she spoke less, Lily pulled out a piece of parchment from her robes. The paper contained the titles of a number of dark magic books, which she knew would be found in most of the libraries of London's Death Eater families. After all, this was Knockturn Alley.

"A copy of each of these books please." she stated, handing the piece of parchment to him, flashing him a dazzling grin, as he took the list from her hand.

"Bit of a book lova, eh?" The man stated, leering at her.

"Ahem. Yes. I'm just building my collection."

The old guy bought it, like a child would a piece of candy.

"Very well. I'll just be getting' these book for ya, milady."

Lily watched, as the man hobbled to the back of his shop, and soon disappeared behind a door. Oh god. This was too easy. She had purposely been given the names of books, which were not sold in the open. The man had obviously gotten his grubby hands on such titles by the black market. The books included:

_Lethalis Curs_ by Antonia Lavistor

_The Art of Destruction_ by Cyrunius Mafalda

_Fatal Awakening_ by Songordo Walden

_Of Noble Blood: Lines of Dignity_ by Carson Benthime

The gears in her brain began to turn ferociously fast, as if working for dear life. If she was caught, there'd be a lot more than hell to pay.

Not wasting any time, Lily Evans muttered a simple camouflaging spell upon herself. It wouldn't make her invisible, but you would have to look more than twice, to see she was there.

Lily hopped behind the counter, and immediately placed a rarely used detection spell on the whole vicinity. A particular area, at the bottom of a section of drawers sent off a pretty strong amount of purple fog.

This old man was a fool. This was easier than she had expected. But then again, people like him made her job possible in some ways. Tapping her wand against the particular drawer safe, Lily gave an incantationless unlocking charm.

It was protected.

Lily almost rolled her eyes in annoyance. Of course. She had been expecting that. That was another two seconds of time wasted.

Digging out a loose quill from her pocket, she hastily ripped off the red safety tag that had been wrapped around it, to get the ink flowing. Holding the potentially lethal quill up, Lily traced a large crimson circle around the face of the metal safe. Immediately, the area where the highly effective, chemically engineered ink had made contact with the safe began to melt away. Soon enough, there was a hole just large enough for Lily to slip one arm in.

Quickly, and efficiently, Lily pulled out a package, wrapped in brown paper, and tied with an old piece of twine.

She frowned slightly.

For something that was so valuable, it certainly didn't look so. Shrugging inwardly, Lily slipped the package into her cloak, as she stood up. She nudged the drawer back into place, and with her wand, cleared all evidence of the burn.

Counting seconds, her heart racing, Lily quickly edged over the side of the counter, and back to her position in front of it. She nonchalantly began to examine her nails, just as the old man returned, carrying an arm load of books.

* * *

Lily Evans was in her element as she crawled, cat like, through the secret passage leading straight to her branch of the Intelligence office, clutching her wand out before her. She crept forward, taking great effort to stay as silent as she could, until she reached the brilliantly concealed air vent. It was virtually guaranteed that no person would ever find this air vent unless they had memorized its position first, and learned to recognize it. Breathing slowly, she pressed her ear to the surface.

Quiet.

She bit her lip.

_Good._

That meant Nolan was probably expecting her. She glanced at her watch, waiting. Unspeakables always waited, it was in their training.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One. Lily pushed firmly against the hidden door with both hands, and slipped through.  
Falling with a flip of her body, she twisted herself into a catlike crouch before landing on the ground. She did this so fast, it would've appeared to be a blur had anyone watched.

"Lily. You're back. Have you got it?"

Lily Evans, still in her disguise, flipped her head to the left, to see her boss, instructor and mentor, since she had graduated from Hogwarts.

Nolan.

"Was there ever any doubt Nolan? Of course, I've got it." Lily bent down, and slipped the strange object she had stolen from the shop owner out of the calf pocket of her black cargo pants. She turned to him and gently placed it in his grasp.

Nolan shot her a grateful smile. "Of course not. You've yet to fail me, Miss Evans."

Lily stood up and casually brushed herself off. She stepped lightly over to a secluded corner of the room, where there was a dresser and mirror placed conveniently for Unspeakables, such as her, returning from calls. Upon reaching the dresser, Lily promptly twisted the uncomfortable blonde wig off, letting her rich copper curls fall down her back from their place in a ponytail. She looked straight into the mirror and blinked twice, removing the contacts, and discarding them with a simple flick of her wand.  
Her eyes were now in their normal green color.

She pointed the wand to her throat and removed the unnecessary, yet recommended voice enhancing charm which tended to slightly constrict your throat if used for longer periods of time. Blinking somewhat tiredly and finished with getting rid of her disguise, Lily rubbed at the back of her neck. Suppressing a yawn, she closed her eyes and attempted to relax. No matter how many times she'd been on them, these types of calls always made her anxious. Still facing away from Nolan, and oblivious to the awe struck man in the corner, Lily calmly spoke. "So Nolan, you were supposed to tell me about my partnership with that Auror. I was under the impression I would be meeting him today."

Lily was now removing each of the dark magic books the disgusting man had given her, and performing a spell to restore them to their original size. She had shrunken them before, for easier accommodation.

"Yeah, about that." Nolan started. "Actually he's right here with me. Right now. I'm surprised you haven't noticed him yet."

Lily immediately turned after comprehending what Nolan had said. And for the first time since entering the room, Lily was aware of the rather handsome man who had been watching her curiously.

Too bad the one man looked extremely familiar.

What the hell? Lily furrowed her brows, her heart rate increasing rapidly. A tall, lean, toned physique. Thin, wired glasses. Rich, hazel eyes. And of course… Perpetually messed up black hair. She heard his sharp intake of breath, and her eyes darted to meet his. Lily's eyes widened and she stopped breathing.

"Lily Evans," Nolan started quite cheerfully. "I'd like you to meet your new ministry partner, Mr. James Potter."

Two pairs of eyes significantly widened once more.

"Potter?"

"Evans?"

* * *

- -

Yay! I don't know how many of you are returning readers, but... hi! This story will continue to be reposted, and I will be adding more parts. So, until then, review!

If you're a new reader, I just want to say that this first chapter has been VERY misleading in the past. This story is not, and I repeat, NOT a dark, spy thriller adventure/mystery story. There might be a little action, but nobody's murdered. It's mostly, basically all romance. With that said, thanks for reading! Also, don't worry about the technology involved here, it certainly can happen with magic, even if it seems unrealistic, but, hey, you can only get so realistic with Harry Potter.

Oh yeah, and if you think Lily seems like a major Mary Sue, then let me assure you, she's about as perfect as I am, which is _far_ from being Mary Sue-like. It'll get better later on, tho.

Review, review! Do it!


	2. She's Just the Girl

_Because You Loved Me_

By: CarbonMonoxide

Disclaimer: hurrah.

Full Summary: She's an Unspeakable. Cold, reserved, detached… and unnervingly intelligent. He's an Auror. Carefree, happy, relaxed… impulsive and free spirited. They're both in their last year of training, and willing to do nearly anything to gain admittance into the prestigious and well respected Ministry's Special Board. But when the Ministry decides to implement a new "buddy system" to increase the capability of their trainees, Lily Evans and James Potter are going to have to work, live, and think as partners, just like at Hogwarts, except this time, they're older, and there aren't any professors around to keep them in line.

I'm BACK! Finally, right? And some of you thought I'd never update… shame on you, lol, how could you think I would just ditch my lovely story like that…? Well, anyways, yes, it's true, this story's alive and kicking! I edited it a little/added a new chapter, and hopefully it's better now. K, don't have much to say. I'm just stallin'.

Ha, and you're Lenin. Get it? …Umm, nevermind. On to the fic!

-

* * *

Nolan Prewett glanced confusedly at his two favorite ministry officials, his eyes flicking from James to Lily, and then back to James. "Err, " he started awkwardly. "I take it you guys know each other then?" 

Lily just stared at James, intransigently, refusing to look away, as if daring him to say something.

James smiled, his hazel eyes showing amusement as he looked casually at Lily. "We know each other, very well, in fact." he stated, his grin becoming wider.

Lily looked away, glaring at the ceiling. A grin that would normally melt any other woman on the spot, left Lily completely unaffected.

"Well," started Nolan, recognizing that nobody was really paying attention to him. " I guess I'll leave you two alone to get, ah...reacquainted. Meet me in the West Conference Room when you're ready, and I'll explain your responsibilities." With that said, the older man left the room, unable to decipher why his two of his favorite people were acting so oddly.

As soon as the door closed however, James spoke up, a smirk beginning to form on his handsome face.

"So, I guess we'll be working together then, eh Evans?"

"I guess." Lily said indifferently, as she turned away, once again looking at the ceiling. She honestly couldn't believe it, it seemed incomprehensible.James Potter:

The stupid git that had made fun of her on her very first day of school, the stupid git that had made her cry and called her a carrot top, the stupid git that had asked her out nearly everyday since her fourth year, after she had 'grown up' a little, the stupid git that had managed to somehow discourageboys that ever asked or (attemped to ask) her out... the stupid git that somehow managed to get the same grades as her, without even trying…

Stupid git. Stupid git. Stupid git.

Lily couldn't help the feelings of immense retroactive hostility and belligerence that arose within her, as she looked back on those days. And now she was going to be stuck with this crass, obnoxious, stupid, lazy bum of a partner, who would no doubt take advantage of her personality and use it as an excuse to sit back and watch her do both his _and_ her work. God, she had worked so hard to get to where she was today. All those extra hours spent cramming with books, of staying up late memorizing maps and procedures; all the nights she'd given up much wanted hours of sleep to volunteer at the department for "no pay, just for the experience", all the tough, extra courses she'd taken just for more qualifications, all the times she'd attended long, circuitous, unnecessary but helpful lectures instead of going out and having fun with Clara… everything would be lost, because now she was stuck with James Potter. How was she ever going to get into the Ministry's Special Board with someone like Potter as her partner? …Potter, who would personally see to it that they would be the most unprepared, undeserving, incompetent and basically the worst two candidates in all history to ever ask for admittance into the Special Board. _Why_ did this sort of crap always happen to her?

"God, Evans," James started irritably, interrupting Lily's thoughts as he noticed her distant behavior, "At least you could look at me."

Lily whipped around, her eyes wide in anger and frustration. This was just too much for her. It was hard enough for her to get over the fact that all her hard work was going down the drain, but to listen to James Potter's annoying nagging every two seconds would be enough to make her scream her lungs out. "Listen, and listen well, Potter." she started quietly, moving towards him. "We're obviously going to have to work together whether you like it or not, so I would prefer if you for once, acted like the normal, responsible person I know you aren't, and pulled your own weight. I expect you to do whatever work you have to do by yourself and I expect you to do it well, without any assistance from me, because I'm not going to do anything for you, _anything_, even if it means we're not going to be accepted into the Board. Alright, is that clear? Good. Consider yourself warned."

James stared at her. Damn, she talked fast. And _damn_, she was hot. Lily looked even better than he'd remembered, and her already amazing figure looked as if it had been kicked up a few notches from the last two years.

"And for Merlin's sake, try not to be such a…" Lily faltered, unable to find the right word to describe the man who was currently staring at her.

"Such a prat?" James supplied helpfully.

"Yes!" Lily said in exasperation. "Exactly! Don't be such a prat!"

"Okay, Evans, let's try to be rational here. I haven't even seen you for two whole years now, and then we suddenly find out we're going to be working together, I've barely said a word to you, and you start screaming at me about how irresponsible and pratty I am. Now tell me, is that being reasonable?"

"Yes." Lily replied shortly, looking up at the ceiling.

"What?" James spluttered. "What's your problem, Evans? And why do you keep looking at the ceiling? What's so interesting about it?"

Lily flicked her eyes back to James. "Well, I'd rather look at the ceiling than look at you." she said coldly. Yeah, she knew it was childish, she knew it was stupid and low, but she was beyond caring at this point.

"What the hell?" James cried out incredulously. "You know," he added, his tone changing,"I can't believe we even dated." He stated, his look of annoyance now gone, as amusement crawled onto his face.

"Shut up." Lily said, annoyed, as she rubbed her eyes. "We never even dated, Potter, and you know it. I don't even know what lifeless, ignorant, stupid person could've started that rumor, so seriously, just shut up." He just had to bring that up, didn't he? This conversation was giving her a headache. _Once a prat, always a prat,_ Lily thought bitterly.

"Fine, sorry. Look Evans, I know you're stressed..." James said quietly, noticing Lily's actions.

Lily was tempted with a sudden urge to scream at him. Well, no rubbish, she was stressed. You would be too, if you found out you were working with James Potter and nearly 48 months of training and studying was going to be worthless. It wasn't exactly a time for much revelry.

"You have no patience, whatsoever, Evans." James muttered, when Lily gave no reply.

"I seem to lose all patience when it comes to you, Potter." Lily replied dryly.

"We're not getting anywhere by arguing back and forth, you know."

"Really? Wow. I never would've guessed," Lily shot back, caustically.

James ignored her, and continued on. "I have something to say, Evans, and it's actually intelligent, believe it or not. Remember what we did, when I miraculously became Headboy, and we were forced to work together as Head Boy and Girl?"

"No." Lily raised her eyebrows and looked at James tiredly. What did Head duties have anything to do with the present situation? That was nearly two years ago. And a lot had happened in two years.

"Well, we made a truce, an agreement, a deal, a-"

"I get it." Lily cut in. "I'm listening."

"So," James started. "Why don't we do as we did two years ago, and make a truce?"

"Okay..." Lily said slowly. "So, you're saying we form a sort of agreement?"

"Exactly."

"To what terms?"

"Well, I'll agree to pull my own weight, show full responsibility, and also the utmost respect to my partner, and I'll try not to be a prat, whilst you, Lily Evans, have to agree to stop bossing me around, stop insulting me, start showing equal respect, and try to have some patience."

Lily stared at him. She never would've thought. James Potter? And her? Agree? Was he actually making an attempt to step up and take responsibility? However, now that she thought about it, it was probably just an attempt to temporarily shut her up. Just because James said he was going to work, it didn't mean that he actually would. And he probably wouldn't, knowing James. Still, she'd almost forgotten about their agreement in seventh year, and that had worked somewhat, hadn't it? She hadn't been expelled or lost her badge. … There was hope.

"So, what do yousay, Evans?" James asked casually holding out his hand. "Is it a deal?"

Lily glanced down at James hand. And then up to his hazel eyes. He looked honest and innocent enough. But since when was James Potter innocent? "Well, it's not like we have much of a choice." Lily said, after a sigh. And with that decision made, she reached up, and took James' hand. "It's a deal."

"Good." James said simply. And without any hesitation, he dropped her hand, and headed for the door. "I think Nolan's waiting for us." he said, as he pulled open the heavy oak door with nearly no effort. "Ladies first." James said, holding the door open.

Glaring at his grinning face, Lily moved forward, and just as she was about to pass him, James spoke.

"And by the way, Evans, I thought I'd let you know. You look incredibly sexy in black."

* * *

- - 

Review, review! I'll give you a sticker! I dug this story up, and revamped it! Offer me some encouragement! If you already reviewed this chapter, then send an anonymous review or something, lol. More support equals faster updates! Go, baby, go!


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